Chapter 16 The Obstacle Race in the Special Forces of the Parallel World
Henry looked at the bustling crowd with a smile. They were dressed in rags, most of them wearing straw sandals. Many of them lived without a full meal, and now, a roasted pig was a temptation they couldn't resist.
Didn't you see David and his four brothers secretly swallowing their saliva? Although they had meat at home, seasoned roast meat was truly enticing.
In this era, even having a full meal was a luxury, let alone the luxury of spices. Meat was either roasted with a little salt or boiled in water with a pinch of salt.
Even the nobles couldn't enjoy delicate cuisine. At best, their food was a bit better prepared than commoners. Otherwise, Ruby wouldn't be so obsessed with the kitchen, and even Willow had taken up baking.
In just two days, Mila had completely immersed herself in the world of food. She could be seen eating all day long, sighing that this was the real noble life, better than a prince.
The meat's aroma grew stronger. With the wind, the sound of people swallowing saliva was incessant. When Willow and her maidservants brought in plates of bread, the excitement reached its peak.
Each large plate contained bread made from finely ground wheat, with large chunks of roasted meat placed on top by Ruby, along with a few wild vegetables, creating a plate of exotic pasta.
In this era, there were no stone mills to process wheat. People relied on stones to slowly grind the wheat into a very rough and hard-to-digest product.
When Mila started eating a plate of pasta, the crowd went crazy. This was the food of the nobles, something they had never eaten in their early lives.
"Henry, please start the trial now!"
"Yes, let's get started. We will definitely pass the trial."
Henry nodded at Wyatt. The temptation was strong enough now; they could begin.
Wyatt stepped forward after clearing his throat, raised his hand to silence the crowd, and shouted, "As long as you can pass the trial and become a soldier for Lord Henry, you can have meat every day."
No matter where you are, people are driven by their stomachs. Without the enlightenment of the information age, commoners are simple, just like Mila, who is afraid of taking advantage of others.
As soon as Wyatt finished speaking, the crowd immediately started clamoring, and Wyatt instructed David and the others to act as required.
"Every ten people forming a line and enter the castle for the trial," David said, holding a long sword given to him by Henry.
Under the intimidation of the gleaming sword, everyone obediently lined up and entered the castle in groups of ten. Led by Zachary, they arrived at the square inside the castle.
It had been transformed into a simplified version of a 980-feet obstacle course, exactly as Henry had seen on TV.
This obstacle race was just for selection. After the selection, those who were chosen would have to complete a 1640-feet obstacle course, which was even more challenging.
Rolling, climbing, crawling, leaping ditches, rope climbing, tunnel crawling, balancing on beams, scaling walls, and so on...
As the ten people began to run, Henry, Wyatt, and the others stood by and watched.
Ten minutes passed, and no one had been able to complete the race. Not even a six-feet-high wall could be overcome, prompting Henry to shake his head repeatedly and signal failure.
Zachary immediately led the people who couldn't even complete half of the course and then brought in the next group.
"Henry, it's very difficult for them to complete the course in ten minutes. Even David and the others take a few minutes. How can those untrained commoners possibly do it?" Wyatt said with a hint of pride. After all, his trained son had made him proud.
"Hum! Completing the course in a few minutes is impossible in my eyes. To be qualified, they must complete the 980-feet obstacle course in one minute," Henry said to hit confidence.
"It's impossible!" Wyatt's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe that anyone could complete it in one minute.
"Nothing is impossible. This is the training method from my hometown. Soldiers who can complete the course in one minute are considered elite and are the cream of the crop," Henry said calmly.
The course here was a simplified version, with no rolling in the mud, no added gravel or mud for crawling, no fire in the ditches, and no iron spikes around the tunnel.
If Henry had included these, it was likely that no one, not even David and the others, could complete the course.
"Well," Wyatt was speechless. He was very envious of Henry's hometown, as many rare things came from there, such as the food, the white paper, and the weapons.
He had stayed in the capital of the kingdom, but he had never seen these things, so Wyatt would not doubt what Henry said. He decided to give his five sons extra training. If they couldn't complete the course in one minute, they wouldn't get any food.
David and the others were unaware that Wyatt had set his sights on them, and they were looking at the people running the obstacle course with smiles on their faces.
